iPhone, Mac, Apple Watch Users Must Update Immediately, Alert Says

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has released a high-severity alert that warns Apple users about the existence of several critical security flaws that cut across iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other related Apple devices. The advisory, marked as CIAD-2025-0041 and published on November 10, draws attention to the weaknesses that may give a hacker the chance to access the user's device and sensitive data without any permission.

CERT-In has already pointed out that the security issues could potentially let the intruders execute any code they want on the affected devices, slide through the system's restrictions or take control over the device with full administrative rights. The implications of these attacks could be personal data disclosure, impersonating users, and causing users to lose their devices due to crashes when the system becomes non-functional.

Affected Devices and Software Versions

Old software is a major risk factor for Apple devices. CERT-In has indicated the following versions that are at risk:

iOS and iPadOS versions less than 26.1 (for legacy hardware, it's 18.7.2)

macOS Tahoe versions sooner than 26.1

macOS Sequoia versions older than 15.7.2

macOS Sonoma versions less than 14.8.2

watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS versions underneath 26.1

Safari and Xcode versions less than 26.1

Users who haven’t legislated their devices to these versions are strongly recommended to act right away and make the safeguarding of their devices a priority.

Steps to Update and Protect Your Device

Apple has issued security updates to patch these vulnerabilities, and the device owners should take the necessary steps to update the operating system as follows:

Go to the Settings application on your Apple device.

Select General > Software Update.

In case an update is available (usually it is version 26.1 or higher), immediately download and install it.

If users do not update their devices, they will remain vulnerable to unauthorized access, data loss, or device malfunction. CERT-In reiterated that prompt updates are still the best countermeasure against these kinds of security threats.

The alert affects almost all Apple platforms, so experts suggest that users should verify the security of every device, which involves checking Macs, iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, Apple TVs, and even developer tools like Xcode. If the advisory is ignored, it could lead to personal information, financial transactions, and communications being compromised.